In a network-based communications environment, certain communications standards, such as, for example, a synchronous optical network (SONET) ring architecture, may be employed for supplying connectivity between a relatively large number of users in the network. SONET is a well-known standard for optical telecommunications transport promulgated by the Exchange Carriers Standards Association (ECSA) for the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The SONET standard is set forth in the document ANSI T1.105-1988, entitled American National Standard for Telecommunications—Digital Hierarchy Optical Interface Rates and Formats Specification (September 1988), which is incorporated by reference herein. Additional supplements to the SONET standard, including ANSI T1.106-1988, entitled Digital Hierarchy Optical Interface Specifications: Single-Mode (August 1988), and ANSI T1.119-1994, entitled Information Systems—Synchronous Optical Network (SONET)—Operations, Administrations, Maintenance, and Provisioning (OAM&P)—Communications (May 1994), are also incorporated by reference herein. Other well-known network configurations, such as, for example, an Ethernet tree architecture, may be similarly employed for connecting a large number of users to a more centralized node in the network.
Unfortunately, the SONET ring architecture, like many other standard network architectures, is costly to implement due, at least in part, to the complex transport overhead required to be fully compliant with the SONET standard. This overhead necessarily increases the amount of hardware and/or software required for implementing SONET, as well as significantly increasing design cycle time. Furthermore, the SONET architecture is not easily expandable without significant provisioning, e.g., adding add/drop multiplexers (ADMs), etc., to the system. Additionally, an Ethernet tree architecture does not provide an adequate level of active transport link status information, and individual Ethernet links are typically of lower capacity compared to links in a SONET architecture.
There exists a need, therefore, for a more cost-effective and less complex network-based data transport architecture that does not suffer from one or more of the problems exhibited by conventional methodologies.